CIA strikes again!

Last weekend I enjoyed a much needed night out with friends and hubby. I had left surprise clues for Dave all week to get him excited for our weekend date. We ended up at the Outback steak house for dinner. A total man's restaurant! I must admit I do like the bloomin onion. Dave, although not smiling, was really having FUN!

ATTENTION!

Everybody ready! Sometimes I feel like I need a whistle for an attention grabber. Today is my crazy day but notice I still found time to blog.







We got a call from our friends telling us that they had blackberries we could come and pick. Cade loves them so we immediately went to pick them which meant time to make jam today. We (I do mean me because how much help are Hailey and Valerie - actually more of a hinderance if you know how bad blackberries stain) made jam and then headed off to Hailey's tumbling class. Of course it ends up being picture day at tumbling. The pics stay on the wall the whole year long. Wouldn't you know she has a stain on her face from last nights face painting at the block party and a new stain from eating so many blackberries! She still manages to be adorable though.

After school things really heat up. Here is a tentative schedule. It is subject to change related to potty breaks (Valerie is potty trained but when she says she's gotta go, that takes top priority!)

Ashley gym 3:30
Cade piano 4:10
Ashley piano 4:40
Ashley soccer game 5:30
Mikayla violin 5:30
Cade football practice 5:30
Ashley Achievement Day Girls 6:30

And that is why we eat so late on Thursdays. I guess I really am a soccer mom but I love it and wouldn't have it any other way. I am very grateful that our kids have the opportunities they do and that I can be apart of it. So I am off for now!

1 year ago......

I am flashing back to a year ago. I always do that. One week ago today we were doing...., Can you believe last month at this time we were doing this..... Dave does not really get why I do this and neither do I but it happens. Anyway 1 year ago I was in Chicago with my mom and friends, Tamie and Chris. We have all been friends since our growing up days and had one heck of a time all together before my mom took off on a mission to Mexico! I highly recommend we do this again when you return Mom.

We made it through some nausea caused by severe turbulence!

We walked a lot, shopped, and ate!

We all loved the play WICKED!

Me, Blue Man, Tamie

Ashley turns 9!

Wow, how time flies! My chubby cheek, darling baby Ashley is growing up!

It doesn't seem very long ago that she was dancing with Grandpa Keller at Cam & Erin's wedding after hacking off half of her head of hair.

Always smiling!

This year it was Ashley's turn for a family party. Forget her new bike, she loved her straw glasses from the dollar tree! We made purses, painted ceramic animals, ate cheescake disguised as a soccer ball and went to the movie!

The rest of her party was celebrated in Utah at the Shirleys. One thing she really wanted to do was go shopping at justice for girls with only me. We had a blast! We were in the store for over 2 hours trying on things and picking out earrings. It was fun to see her dancing in the mirror and singing. Our next stop was the mall. Of course, we had to stop in the center of the mall at the photo booth and make silly faces and get our pictures. Little did we know that our pictures were all over the outside of the booth. We finished off the day watching BYU spank UCLA and had pizza and cheescake with all the cousins and Grandma and Grandpa.

Happy Birthday Ashley! We love your happy attitude and your willingness to always help out!

You gotta love a man that cans!

Tomatoes

+
Dave

=
some darn good SALSA

Thanks to a little bit of tomatoes and peppers from our garden and lots from Grandma & Grandpa Shirley's garden Dave was able to brew up some good tasting salsa. The kids love it including little Valerie. You gotta love a man than cans!

Football season is here!

I love this time of year. The weather is still warm but cool at nights. The kids get back in school which means we get back to some sort of routine. But most importantly you can feel football season in the air! Dave has gotten BYU season football tickets forever. I guess you could say that is a tradition in our family. A very loved tradition by the kids. Mikayla and Dave were able to go to the first home game of the season. She told everybody that she had been waiting for this day for 2 years. (really it has just been since last season) I think she wanted to see what all the excitement was about and mostly get spoiled by Dave with treats! It was fun listening to Cade prepare Mikayla for the game. He was giving up his spot to go but wanted to make sure Mikayla new the basics. He was trying to explain to her 1st downs etc. Really, she was just thinking, "I can't wait to get frozen lemonade!" She did get lemonade among other things. It was 100 degrees at cougar stadium.
Who wouldn't want to go to a football game with Dave? Mikayla walked away with a new shirt, hat, lots of sugar, and some fun quality time with her Dad. It seems like I tend to be the frugal parent when it comes to entertainment. At restaurants I will order water for everyone, Dave on the other hand will let them get drinks/milkshakes. I also don't see the need to stop at gas stations for treats while we are traveling. We usually are only driving 3 hours. We should be able to make it that long without stopping but no we usually don't even make it out of our own town without stopping at Wendy's for dinner! I am used to the Keller family vacation tradition of only 2 meals a day!

Dave took Mikayla to Sensuous Sandwich in Provo. Dave and I used to eat there all the time when we went to school. We love to go back. They have the best subs!